Passenger and commercial vehicles include a transmission that receives a torque from a motor, an engine, or both. In automatic transmissions, a torque converter transfers the engine or motor torque to the transmission. The torque converter provides an initial amount of slip that gradually reduces over time. This operating characteristic of the torque converter is referred to as the k-factor of the torque converter. The k-factor affects the way the vehicle feels to a driver. That is, the amount of time it takes for the vehicle to accelerate in response to the driver pushing an accelerator pedal is determined by the k-factor of the torque converter. However, the k-factor associated with the torque converter may lead to inefficiencies during launch.